


Waiting for Sai's Hand

by BridgetMcKennitt



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: Gen, Lucid Dreaming, Platonic Soulmates, Post-Canon, Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 04:18:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6223579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kouyou dreams of his eternal rival, Sai.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting for Sai's Hand

After a long night of waiting in front of the goban, Kouyou returned to his bed. His wife was long asleep, so used to him moving in and out in the middle of the night, and Kouyou wished sleep would come easy to him. He had questions, but no answers, and he doubted he'd receive them anytime soon. Not unless his son's friend, Shindou Hikaru, opened up to him.

He chuckled softly to himself. Shindou refused to even speak about it with Akira, and those two were very close. Kouyou had no chance getting Shindou to reveal his secrets.

Kouyou sighed as he pulled the sheet over his body. The greatest game he had ever played and it was to someone who was both nameless and faceless to him. No, not completely nameless. Sai. Sai had the potential to shake the Go world even greater than he already did and yet Sai remained silent and in the shadows. The last time anyone had seen Sai's activity was the match they played. Why? It made no sense to him.

He closed his eyes and began replaying his game with Sai in his mind until he fell asleep.

*

Kouyou became aware he was dreaming almost instantly. He was surrounded by mist, but he saw there was a goban a few steps ahead of him. Kouyou didn't question his dream, only that he was meant to be here for a reason, and he sat down in front of the goban. Whoever was his opponent, Kouyou would face them head on.

It felt like he sat there for an eternity, but Kouyou was a patient man. You had to be as a Go player and he knew this dream was important. Whoever was supposed to meet him on the other side of this goban was going to show up. Kouyou just had to wait, and if it was the opponent that he suspected it was, Kouyou had been waiting for him for awhile now. He just had to wait a little longer.

The mist ahead of him cleared until Kouyou saw a man standing there. He was tall and wore white robes with a tall hat on his head and long black hair. Kouyou didn't recognize his face, he wasn't familiar to him, but deep in his soul, he knew this man. He knew him like he knew anyone he'd ever played against on the goban.

"Sai," he said. He said it softly, but it felt like the name filled the room. As soon as he said the name, he knew it was true. This was the mysterious Sai.

Sai nodded after a few minutes. Kouyou noticed a fan in Sai's hand that reminded him of the one that Shindou held during his Go matches. It hit him that perhaps that was the reason for Shindou's fan and while he didn't need anymore confirmation, it was enough to know that it was true that Shindou and Sai were connected.

Sai finally walked towards him and sat down on the opposite side of the goban. Kouyou bowed his head. "It is good to finally meet you face to face, Sai."

Sai nodded again and gestured towards the goke that appeared on the goban. Kouyou didn't know why Sai wasn't speaking, but Kouyou wasn't going to question it. Once they began playing Go, that was all the conversation they'd need in order to communicate with each other.

Once they had their stone colors chosen, he with white while Sai had black, he waited for Sai's first move. Sai dipped his hand into his goke and placed a black stone down. Kouyou's heart raced in excitement. Just one game with Sai was not enough. He suspected that this game wasn't going to be enough either, but he was going to give this game his all like the last time.

Kouyou dug into his goke for a white stone and placed his down on the goban. With every stone they placed, Kouyou felt like he was alive in a way he had never been before. No wonder his son was so obsessed with Shindou and why Kurabawa believed that the Hand of Go would be found when two equally strong opponents faced each other. There was no Go without two people, no Akira without Shindou, and Kouyou realized he was no one without Sai.

Sai was his other half.

Kouyou laid down another stone as a thought occurred to him. Sai may be his other half, but Sai no longer existed in the same realm as him. Why else had they only played through the internet and now through a dream? He met Sai's gaze as Sai nodded his head again before smiling at him.

Kouyou let out a sigh. "Our destiny is cruel for us to never have the hundreds and thousands of matches we should have had together. Is that why you were Shindou's mentor? You have to had been. It is through Shindou that your Go flows, just as my Go flows through Akira. It is their destiny to play each other for the matches we never got to have together." He chuckled softly as he shook his head. "I never thought I'd be so envious of my own son. He managed to find his half at such a young age and they have the rest of their lives to play Go. I found you too late."

Sai's smile turned downward into a slight frown and he tapped his fan lightly against the goban. Kouyou somehow understood what Sai meant and he nodded. "You're right. It is a miracle from the God of Go himself that we have been able to play at all. I should instead focus on that instead of what cannot be changed."

When their game concluded, this time with Kouyou winning by a narrow margin, they played another game immediately afterward. Kouyou wanted to continue playing Sai for as long as he dreamt.

Kouyou woke up in the morning refreshed and content. He got out of his bed and headed to his study. They only played a few of the games they were meant to play, of the hundreds and thousands, but Kouyou would treasure every single one of them. He got out kifu paper and a pen so he could record each game. He wanted to share the gift of Sai with the world because Sai _was_ a gift as well as his friend and rival.

Akira found him an hour later as he continued to record his games. Akira raised his eyebrow as he picked up the kifu of the first dream game. "Father?" He furrowed his brow. "Father, this looks like you were playing..." Akira trailed off, like he was unsure even though his instincts were telling him the truth.

Kouyou looked up and nodded to him. "Yes, it does, doesn't it? Perhaps you should invite Shindou over today. I believe the three of us have much to talk about." He reached out and placed his hand on top of Akira's before Akira could leave. "Son, I am very proud of you. Hold onto Shindou tightly, okay?"

"Father?"

"You are fortunate that you found your rival when you did. Not many people are as fortunate as you."

Akira nodded slowly. "Yes, Shindou is my eternal rival. If you are speaking about Sai, I feel that he feels the same way about you. He is your eternal rival, isn't he?"

"He is. There is no doubt."

As Akira left his study, Kouyou looked down at the kifu in his hand. It was a beautiful game, just like the others they had played. There was no doubt about it at all.


End file.
